Monday, May 3, 2010

Heroes and villians: homeless tales you're not likely to hear.

Do you know how easy it is to take an online action for the environment? Every day I get at least half a dozen emails with links to petitions and legislative actions I can take to stop offshore oil drilling, protect a river or speak out for an endangered animal. Not so for homeless and poor people, though-- there are few national organizations and the local organizations are often disconnected from each other. That's why I'm putting up with a misbehaving widget on the top right of my blog which would help provide some safety for young people on the streets. Please sign it.

Last week a homeless man, Alfredo Tale-Yax, intervened in a fight between a man and a woman where the man was threatening the woman with a knife. Mr. Tale-Yax was then stabbed by the man, and as he lay dying on the sidewalk, people just passed him by.

Last week the Cincinnati, Ohio Coalition for the Homeless called for crimes against homeless people to be considered a hate crime-- this after a homeless man, John Johnson, was attacked while he was sleeping by four skinheads, three of whom turned out to be U.S. servicemen stationed at Ft. Bragg. Mr. Johnson survived the attack with a fractured cheek, a head wound requiring 18 stitches and other injuries.

For two days, former steelworker Danny lived on a billboard to help raise awareness-- and funds-- for homeless people. Check out his story at MediaLife.